The only problem with the idea of the Flyers dumping Carle's salary is that they would only do so if they needed it to add another player.

Considering their fantastic forward depth and injuries on D it seems unlikely they'd dump one defenseman's salary just to go out and spend assets on another one. There aren't a lot of impact defenders likely to become available that make less than Carle.

DBR from CanucksCentral? If so, good to see you here.

Unlikely, yes. They don't need much. But consider that Philly is spending 24m~ on their top7 Dmen and are _still_ looking for D help... Clearly, something is not working for that D corps. Now, if they view Carle as a part of the problem, then dumping his salary (should there be little market for him) is the best course.

Philly is unlikely to get better on D without giving up assets regardless. Carle + assets will have to go to make the D better. Saying that, the return need not be an "impact dman," just someone that is better for Philly than Carle is. Someone like Gleason comes to mind...A more defensive dman than Carle is. Point is, for them to improve the D, one of their Dman will have to leave due to cap restrictions.

I could certainly see the Flyers choosing to go in another direction but unless things start to really go sideways for that team I would expect them to wait until the offseason to make any major changes.

If Philly decides to wait til the offseason, then there's still other possibilities. Raymond going to Carolina for D help could be an option. Moving Ballard to NYI for a forward would then balance the team again. Still options out there even if the team doesn't get Carle.

Raymond and Ballard are the trading chips IMO. Each could be dealt this year to try and improve the team.

As an aside: Turris hasn't had a good return to the Coyotes... So perhaps he's still a possibility as well.

What about Cory Sarich?
I've been trying to think of someone we could acquire along the lines of Max Lapierre/Chris Higgins deadline deals.

3rd and a middle of the pack prospect. I'm not 100% on their needs, but their D isn't exactly young, but they really don't have any top quality prospects.

I'm opposed to moving Raymond for now, his chemistry with Cody Hodgson is very useful and definitely needed. Having 3 possibles lines with scoring ability will be pivatol come playoff time.

I went with Sarich since he'd be cheap to acquire, we wouldn't require him to play Top 4 minutes, meaning we can kinda shelter him from top opponents. Also we could allow him to walk after the playoffs. He's got a Cup ring, and plays the right side.

A giant no from Buffalo for sure. Don't think that the rest of the league doesn't know how bad Ballard's been in his time here. They all know. And a no thank you from me as well. Hodgson's finally starting to come into his own and we don't need another top 6 forward. Plus, as bad as Ballard has been, imagine what it would look like without him; it would be terrible.

Finally, look at every Stanley Cup winner. They all have rookies or cheap contracts performing. That's what we need out of Hodgson.

That's horrible value for Schneider. 2nd round pick and a goalie that might or might not amount to anything, especially on a team already loaded with top-notch goaltending (Luongo, Lack, Cannata, etc.)